The NonBeauty and the Kind Beast
by Bllatrx
Summary: A version of Beauty and the Beast that takes place in a High School setting.
1. Chapter 1

_**Ch.1: Disgust at First Sight**_

This is not a humdrum story of beauty and the beast. Annabelle was not much of a beauty, and Fred was not exactly the beast you might think. But the story is similar to this in that, the concepts and questions of love, self worth, and dignity are all asked.

Here is how it goes.

Annabelle was a young woman of 16. She lived near the outskirts of the city and was still a girl in everyone's eyes. Even she believed herself young and naive and was glad to be so. She was what could be called "rich" but not quite so grand as that. Her father was her only hero and she loved him very much. Her mother was a strange woman who, in Annabelle's eyes, was a leech at times to her poor father and her greatest fear was becoming a woman like her someday.

At 16, she knew much more than she would have liked about people and love (or something like it: sex) and what these things could do to innocent minds. She knew this because all of her friends that she had known for as long as there was a time for her, were falling away, getting lost in these things that it seemed, only she could find anything wrong with. Young men, stained in a way that her parents most likely didn't fully know or understand, scarred her.

She vowed to never marry, to never consummate her love to any man, to anyone, but herself. Of course her view on these things were clouded by past experiences, she knew that of course, she knew that she looked through shaded lenses and that all was never as it appeared to be. Oh, how she knew that. But this didn't stop her in her stubborn plight, the fight in her mind against manipulation and lies that had been told to this young woman. Yes, Annabelle was different than most. She thought different, and, as it is all human's burden, she thought much too much about silly things that drove her crazy.

Fred couldn't have been more different than her. He was dirt poor. Son of a farmer with five siblings, he pitied himself for reasons too dismal for anyone to open an ear to. He was rather large…well okay, extremely large and scary-looking at first glance. A mean, offensive sight that any parent would shy their children (especially daughters) straight away from. He had a good heart but, not too broad a mind, and no wonder; he could only attend school every other week, sometimes less because he was too busy at home.

His education therefore was fair, but his life was extremely dull and hueless. No one could give him a second glance without flinching in disgust or disappointment. In fact, when Annabelle was first introduced to Fred, her thoughts were complete groans of disappointment. She had very few close friends and some she only talked to in school or out of sheer boredom. One of them was April.

A bleach blonde bimbo of a girl, she met Fred and his friend John who-knows-where, but wherever she picked the two losers up from, she introduced them to Annabelle in front of school before they had to go in one damp rainy day. Annabelle clutched her books and looked up in disappointment.

John wasn't ugly exactly but he was short and stubby, had thick square glasses and dirty braces and just simply reeked of self-loathing. Fred, on the other hand, was very tall, which was good but his downfall, was his huge size and foreboding appearance. His face was meaty and pink and harsh looking. Like a guard, a dangerous bodyguard he stood there and eyes Annabelle's long, light blonde curly hair with interest. She didn't like the looks of them at all and as time went by, she also decided that she disliked John's ignorance and stupidity as well.

He was always coming up with stupid ideas and phrases to make himself seem clever and witty when it was quite clear that his thoughts were biased and generalized to such an extreme that Annabelle immediately tuned out everything that came out of his horrible looking mouth.

It was the one fateful day when April managed to convince Annabelle to join her after school at a spot near the Scourges River where they could talk with the two boys again, that she really began to see through Fred's rough exterior into the person it was smothering incessantly.

She went, grudgingly, to the giant rock above the river where they could skip rocks and just be mindless teenagers for once. John and Fred were already there, smoking of course, and Annabelle bristled further, knowing this was probably a mistake. Fred looked at Annabelle again like he did when they first met and she coughed dramatically, eyeing his cigarette with great dislike.

The boys got the hint, shrugged and flicked the things into the already polluted river. "The sunset is so pretty isn't it from here?" April said in a girly voice and sat down on the edge of the rock. John sat next to her. Annabelle stood with her arms crossed and stared at the red flaming sun as it sank, weary, below the horizon. "I get the most beautiful sunsets in my backyard since it's over fields." Fred said, mostly to Annabelle but she wouldn't look at his ugly, disappointing face.

Yeah, Fields are really pretty. I've always liked them. Instead of living near the city I would much rather live in the country where I can be alone and just look at things like the sunset. No one in the city ever bothers to look to the sky, I doubt they even remember it's there." Annabelle said.

Fred, encouraged now that she had spoken finally, then said, "I just was brought up always near those things so I guess that's why I like 'em too."

"Because you live on a farm that's why." John said and glowed when April burst into laughter. Annabelle sighed heavily at these idiots; she could tell that this was there relationship, john and Fred. Fred was the big oaf and john was the little rat who always nipped at him for attention. How moronic, she thought glumly but still stood there, as tempted, as she was to flee this idiot fest.

Fred gave john a menacing look that shut him up and Arya continued to avoid his gaze, his mean face horrified her.

"They're tearing down that side of the woods to build new houses." Aril said, trying to sound knowing.

"Argh!!!!!!! I HATE THAT!" Everyone looked up shocked at Annabelle who seemed so docile to just yell all of a sudden. Yes she was strange all right, even this bunch of mixed up kids saw that soon enough.

"I hate that we have to kill animal's and their homes just because we're horny freaks. We can't just destroy things that aren't ours!"

"Um…what does being horny have to do with killing animals? And what do you means by 'we' I didn't do anything and I'm sure you didn't." Fred said. Annabelle closed her eyes as if this were the stupidest question anyone could ask and she should have expected something like that from him.

"Because, don't you see, humans have sex all the time because it's 'soooo great' and then have tons of kids, there kids need more house, the world gets overpopulated with our scum and we need new houses. So we move on and build new ones. Oh but one thing, other creature have to live here too! That is why I am NEVER having kids."

"I thought there was a different reason though, weren't you like making a list of why your not and everyday you think of a new reason or something." April asked, amused.

"Yes, I do have a list, and it is growing all the time there are so many reasons. One day I will make that a published list and everyone will see it and the world maybe will see how stupid they're being."

"Yep, there she goes with her little rants again about the corruption of the world…don't mind her guys, she's weird." April said before skipping a huge rock that didn't go very far. Fred picked up one and tried, it skipped for so long that even Annabelle looked to see it skipping in neat little waves almost t the other side until it sank.

"Here, you try." Fred said kindly, holding out a rock to Annabelle.

"No thanks, I'm horrible at it."

"How do you know if you don't try?"

"Because." Annabelle said passively. "I am horrible at everything, trust me."

"That you are Annabelle, that you are." April said, sighing in mock disappointment as if she were her sad mother that had to deal with that fact that her daughter was such a loser. Annabelle smiled but turned away, staring into the sunset wondering what the hell she thought she was doing, and if she would ever know.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Worlds collapse at her feet disgust

That year a lot happened to Annabelle. Her best friend and sister, almost, of eighteen years, stopped being friends with her. Persuaded by the flashy lights and so called freedom of teenage-hood, she traded boring, safe Annabelle in for sluts and thugs. Maybe it is hard for you to understand why it impacted her in such a way but, if you only knew what kind of rock-hard friendship her and Katherine had, and how much they both had been through together even at their young ages, you would know that pain and horror that befell Annabelle, when her only real support and love crumbled with one tap. The rock that would never in a million years waver did.

She also lost her brother, who had moved far away to Spain to explore and start a new life with his new wife.

Her grandmother died after suffering for four long years and what hit home the most was that as she wept, and wept and wept for this tragedy, there was no Katherine. There was no friend to hold her head up and say it's all right, you've got me, and I'm here. She was left to cry all on her own, on her best, in school bathrooms, wherever she could be alone, and no one, not even her best friend and sister came to help, she was gone.

Her father became depressed over the loss of his mother and grew more distant, and as all these people moved away from her, abandoning her on this island that she was stuck on, she started dating Chris, a shy humble boy who seemed absolutely perfect for Annabelle only one thing, he wasn't. He soon lost interest in her crying and sorrowful face and dumped her, a few days before her grandmother died.

At that moment she understood what darkness felt like. She could taste it. The betrayal and loneliness and sense of abandonment were completely tangible and she hated it and tried to smash it like glass but it only closed in more. She soon couldn't remember a time when her big brown eyes weren't droopy and red, when she didn't hate the sun for its happiness.

But then came Liz. And like in movies when the main character find luck so suddenly that you would never believe it could happen, and are almost disappointed that they didn't give instructions on how to get out of this mess, Liz came rolling up in her dirty white hippie van, the headlights breaking through the darkness and making Annabelle smile as if it wasn't a dirty old car but goodness itself, coming right down to help her up, and dust herself off.

They met in a bookstore, both looking at the same feminism book and soon began to talk about it. They were like twins but perfectly matched twins at that. Liz was loud and boisterous and wouldn't leave Annabelle alone for two seconds that was exactly what she needed. After being completely abandoned by everyone she knew, it was a sure thing that one of her symptoms would be an incurable need for immense attention. Annabelle was shy and had a phobia of strangers, but Liz took care of that. She was tall and wiry, with short black hair straightened in the front and always spiked in the back, and she wore thin rectangular glasses that made her look like a librarian from hell.

They met almost every other day after that discussing everything; they were so similar it was amazing. Finally when it got to the point of telling her all the things that had gone on, they found out another startling detail about their friendship, something it seemed they had stumbled on without knowing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Phone Terrors

It took awhile for things to at least become stable but, Annabelle flourished with the letters she received from her distant brother, from spending time riding in Liz's white van, who ironically, couldn't like her much because she often punched his seats whenever she was angry, or excited or…well pretty much always.

Maybe it was a mistake, but she came to believe that the only one she could trust was herself and no one else could be let close, it wasn't possible.

The words still rung loud and clear in her head, the words of Liz, "No one will save you, you have to save yourself."

One boring evening, after Liz dropped her off, Annabelle sat reading on her bed, the door locked for no reason, the blinds shut. She was hiding underneath her blanket, which was a daily ritual of hers while she did anything in her room, she had to be safe, and she had to be hidden. She flipped a page and the phone rang, just as suddenly as it started raining outside, a heavy pouring rain, and Annabelle paused, her heart beating rapidly against her chest.

She was a strange little thing all right, she didn't usually pick up the phone, nor did she ever call anyone, no one except Liz. It kept ringing. _No one_ answered the phone in her house, her dad was usually staring off into space sadly, or watching the news, just as sadly and her mother was gone, so it was just her, staring at the phone as if trying to decide whether or not it was poisonous. Finally she picked it up.

"Hello?" she breathed, almost roughly, to try and get the person on the other line to change their mind and hang up, they did not.

"Is Annabelle there?"

"Yes, this is her speaking, what do you want?" She said in a rush, wanting to get off the phone and back under the covers as soon as possible.

"Hi, this is Fred. Do you remember me?"

Annabelle was rather shocked. She hadn't heard or seen him in many months.

"Oh…hello. I haven't heard from you in forever, what's going on?"

"Oh…nothing…"

"Okay." She said, disappointment came bubbling up again, the familiar feeling that she associated with Fred every time. She almost laughed at this amusing thought but decided to keep quiet, maybe he would get bored and hang up on her…she could only hope.

"So…have you heard from John?" she said, secretly kicking herself for letting curiosity win over her exuberant aim to _get off the damn telephone_.

"Yeah, we're still best friends. You still best friends with April?"

Annabelle paused, unsure of how much she should tell this…boy…of what had been going on in her life since they last met on that rock in town. For a few minutes she just sat there and looked out her square window for once, watching the gray rain blur the sky. She could hear Fred's annoyingly heavy breathing as he awaited her answer.

"Hello…" He finally said, procuring her attention.

"Oh! Not, not really, a lot of crap's been going on. Best friends are very fickle, I found that out. Be careful with john he might be the same." She warned him, not sure why she cared what fate befell this hideous ogre.

"Nah," he assured her with confidence, "guys are different. We don't get too attacked so…shit doesn't happen you know?"

"Mhmm." She agreed regretfully. If only the lives of women were that simple, she thought, but of course she just had to be born of the cursed gender. The one with all the sickness and womanly problems, complicated emotional uprisings, and most of all, the gender with and advanced heart and ability to love. The gender who's caring and weakness for love, was the accursed gender's main downfall every time.

"So anyway…" Fred stumbled on his words, trying, obviously, to say what he had truly called about.

"I heard you sometimes go into town after school, it just so happens that John and I do the same thing."

Annabelle was quite appalled to think that Fred, the overgrown lump, thought _her _actions were similar to _them_ AKA dumb and dumber (she hadn't decided which was which yet).

"**_No, _**actually, I go to the library to read, not just hang out in town like the whores and mall rats do thank you very much." She could almost hear his surprise in the offended silence that ensued and she smiled, assured that he would most likely hang up on her and leave her alone now.

"Katherine, Katie, whatever, she goes there, I've seen her. Are you talking about her too?" he sounded genuinely shocked that she would call her friends that but Annabelle just stared at the ceiling with such a malice and hatred that you could have sworn it had just threatened to fall and crush her beneath its heavy whit plaster by the way she glared at it.

"Yes, I am calling her that, it's what she is. If she'd trade me in for _them_ like I'm some worthless drug money, then yes, that is what I'd call her. A crack whore." Annabelle finished off her ranting with incoherent mumblings that sounded…not good at all.

"Okay…anyway, would you like to go into tow- I mean, the library tomorrow?"

Annabelle sat suddenly upright. Did he not just hear what she said before? Damn these idiots with their slow brains!

"Why? She asked suspiciously.

"I don't know, I haven't seen you in awhile, neither had John, we could talk more about what happened with Katie…if you want."

Annabelle considered this. She _did_ kind of secretly wish to tell them about it, get it off her heavy chest; she loved a good rant about things that irritated her after all. Even if they probably wouldn't remember any of what she said, she thought of those two like pure idiots who just wanted her company for god knows what.

They weren't on the same dangerous level as other guys however, so they were no threat to her, they were harmless. How could they dare touch her or betray her. People like them must know that they can't touch people like me, she thought rather pompously, although she knew the truth was that she wasn't all that great looking herself…still.

It wasn't like she would really be hanging out with them anyway, merely seeing them there, _just seeing_, what harm was that? She wouldn't go anywhere else with those monsters. The _rat _and the _elephant_.

"Okay," she said slowly, thinking it over one last time. "Okay I'll be there."

_Click_


End file.
